Lots of folks, especially the youngest workers. With an unemployment rate north of 40% for the youngest workers, Premier Matteo Renzi has his work cut out for him. Apparently, Angela Merkel of Germany recognizes the impending recession throughout the EU. She now supports spending by central banks in an attempt to get the economy moving again. Renzi of Italy has to deal with his moribund Parliament, a cesspool of lethargic decision makers who have been unable to change anything of note for years. The poor Italian worker who is unemployed looks to a very bleak future, a future that as yet has not been identified.
Renzi, of the Partita Democratica, was elected from the City of Florence by voters hoping his youth would conquer the Parliamentary stalemate. He's trying, but it is an uphill climb as labor unions, older workers with contracts, and pensioners do not want changes that affect their income streams. Sad, but true, the Italian economy will never achieve growth without the necessary changes to the ancient labor laws that restrain hiring. What business will hire a worker that he can't fire or lay off without going through the process required by archaic labor rules and contracts? Combined with a legal system based on a mishmash of codes that resemble a foreign language, the odds are against any hiring.
As an example, we have FIAT, the Italian auto maker. Where is Fiat's new focus: America. Yes, Sergio Marcchione purchased Chrysler and is now making money while Italian operations languish in a sluggish market beset by unions and labor laws. He would shut down all Italian plants, fire all the workers and call it a day, if he could. But he can't. So, he accepts the status quo in Italy, and seeks success from American operations, which are expanding amidst an improving economy throughout North America.
Good luck, Sergio. Good luck Matteo Renzi!
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